Services

Sometimes we need a bit of advice from an independent voice. I am able to step into most situations relating to change and offer a constructive view based on years of experience and creative thinking.

“Nick convinced us to make a really tough decision to write-off a failing project and adopt a new approach. He presented the case with clear facts, empathy and reference to his vast experience. Our new approach proved to be the right one and we are thankful for the push we needed”.

An assignment may be required at the start of a change initiative to help set it on the right path or at the end to conduct a review. Often, my consulting role involves a mid-point intervention, for maybe a portfolio that isn’t delivering value or an individual programme that has lost its way.

From vision and strategy through to outcome delivery and benefit realisation I can offer a complete change lifecycle service or a point solution.

“If I could clone this guy, I would have him running programmes in all of our countries. This was a masterclass in how to deliver a complex programme in difficult circumstances”.

Whilst using many proven repeatable solutions and practices, I recognise that every change initiative is different and has its own unique challenges to manage. Similarly, every company has its own culture and individual personalities that require me to adapt and influence. It is this application of new thinking for every challenge, added to years of experience, that drives my approach to delivering change.

The types of change programmes I have led, with teams of up to 1000 and budgets over £100m, include:

With many years experience at board level in Operations, IT and Change, I am well equipped to take on temporary roles as an interim director.

“With an enormous amount of change going on around him, Nick managed to focus the IT department, leading them in a new direction organisationally. He did this without any detriment to the extensive amount of change delivery and provision of a stable service. This was all within only a few weeks of his arrival”.

I have worked as CIO, COO, IT Director, Strategy Director, Change Director in large financial services organisations.

I can work on long term assignments or short-term urgent needs. My skills and experience are best suited to roles where an element of change or transformation is required, either within the department function or as an enabler for corporate goals.

“I am amazed at how quickly Nick has grasped the essence of our business and advised on a technology strategy that will help take us to where we want to go”.

I have been an executive board member in financial services companies, representing operations, technology, change and strategy. Non-executive roles have ranged from financial consulting and products company to an industry standards body.

During my board roles I have worked on committees and task forces in both a growth and containment capacity. My skills and interest lie in companies that have aspiration or need for significant change or transformation.

I am an experienced leader of teams and individuals. I can play the role of coach during change initiatives or as mentor to high potential individuals.

“Nick was my mentor for a year. His incredible personal insight and direct approach brought very quick results. He used real life experiences as a mirror for me to reflect on and to open my eyes to opportunities. I am now in a role where I can exploit my preferred skills and increase my performance. I’m happy, my company’s happy.”

I have been trained in coaching and mentoring plus I have had many years of executive coaching from a number of different coaches with different styles and techniques. The most important factor for me is that the coach and coached choose each other or at least have the opportunity to bail out whenever they feel it isn’t working.

I have had a coaching/mentoring relationship with many managers with different aspirations or issues. The common thread throughout these relationships have been results. In one case a manager was promoted three times during the relationship and in another the manager resigned and changed career.

I am a published author of a book on business change (Lonely Project) and I am experienced in writing many large and complex business documents.

“Nick is very articulate in his conversation and presentation and he adapts well to different situations and audiences. This also comes across in his writing. His documentations are well structured, clear and interesting, with a good use of visuals. His book is written in a clever style to get across some useful insights into managing change”.

I am able to undertake authoring tasks within a role or as a specific assignment. Authored documents include: management book, strategy papers, business plans, operating models, architectures, business cases.